The 2013 campaign marks Marvin Lewis’ 11th as the head football coach of the Cincinnati Bengals.

After back-to-back playoff appearance, Lewis has the Bengals on the cusp of a deep playoff run.

The last two seasons the Bengals have dropped road Wild Card contests to the Houston Texans.

Heading into the offseason, Lewis is looking to get over the hump of four Wild Card defeats during his 10 seasons with Cincinnati.

Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis addresses the media on Friday morning. Lewis and the Bengals will welcome the Colts for a regular season meeting next year.

“We’ve had opportunities and haven’t played as well in those games. I didn’t think that would be an issue for us,” Lewis said of past playoff disappointments.

“We played the last half of the season like those were playoff games. We knew that if we lose the games we were going to be out of it. We put wins together but didn’t go down in Houston and play well. We were relaxed but didn’t have that resolve or attack.”

Dalton has transformed from a second-round draft pick into a starting NFL quarterback from day one and has led his team to playoff berths each year..

“(Dalton) continued to grow and become the leader of the team. That’s what I challenged him throughout the year to do and he did a great job of responding to that,” Dalton said.

“As we go into Year 3 there are some things and some plays that we continue to leave out there. We want to get better at that”

Young talent for the Bengals extends to both sides of the ball and at virtually every position.

Lewis said that in order to get over that playoff hump, the focus this offseason has to be on ‘everyone.’

“I have a lot of disappointing losses. I remember them more than the wins,” Lewis said.

“I feel confident with our guys. We’ll be a better team this season. Guys realize you don’t get to start off where you left off. We’re going to have change but whatever that is we’re all going to have to get better.”

New Colts offensive lineman Mike McGlynn is noticing some parallels between his 2011 season in Cincinnati and this one, his first as a member of the Indianapolis Colts.

McGlynn was picked up off waivers by the Bengals prior to the beginning of last season. There McGlynn was going to a team breaking in a rookie quarterback with a young receiving corps and new offensive coordinator. It was a team coming off a losing season having jettisoned many of its stars from previous years (Carson Palmer, Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco). Most thought it more likely the Bengals would draft Andrew Luck than make the playoffs.

Sound familiar?

Cincinnati, with Mike McGlynn starting most of the season at guard, surprised everyone and made the playoffs as a wild card team last season behind rookie quarterback Andy Dalton. McGlynn thinks that this year’s Colts team could similarly surprise people.

“The strides we’re making with our personnel have been great… Andrew is a unique player. I’ve never been around a guy like him at the position.”

That’s pretty high praise from a lineman who not only blocked for Andy Dalton last season, but has also protected Donovan McNabb and Michael Vick.

It’s not just the football side that has McGlynn excited for this season. He couldn’t be happier to have made the move up I-74 to Indianapolis.

“The city is awesome. I love everything about it! This is one of classiest organizations I’ve ever been a part of.”

McGlynn, a self-described “blue collar guy who brings his lunch pail to work,” is fighting for a starting guard spot on the rebuilt Colts offensive line. Thus far he’s gained the majority of the snaps with the first team, but he knows his real test will begin Sunday afternoon when the Rams start going after Andrew Luck.

If McGlynn and his fellow linemates can keep Luck upright, the Colts will have an outstanding opportunity to emulate the surprise season the Bengals put together last year.